Autocollimating device



Oct. 17, 1933. A. GARBARINI 1,930,969

AUTOCOLLIMATING DEVICE 3 Filed May 28, 1931 3 SheetsSheet l Oct- 7, 933 A. GARBARINI 1,930,969

AUTOCOLLIMATING- DEVICE Filed May 28, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 1/ J? I my A: GARBARINI AUTOCOLLIMATING DEVICE Filed May 28. 1931 I 3.Sheets-Sheet 3 lrwenr (Endr' Garlarini Patented Oct. 17, 1933 AUTOCOLLIMATIN G DEVICE Andre Garbarini, Courbevoie, France, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Libbey Cataphote Corporation, Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application May 28, 1991, Serial No. 540,788, and in France June 3, 1930 19 Claims.

The ever increasing intensityof traffic of road vehicles at higher and higher speeds calls for luminous warnings of road obstacles. The apparatus used to this end likewise serve to render luminous the publicity panels by the roadside or along the railroad. These apparatus are generally autocollimating devices.

Many autocollimating devices are known which use as an illuminating source the head lights of e automobiles, the internal lights of coaches etc.

All these devices call for. greater and greater surfaces and, with the sole alternative of finding their price rising far more rapidly than their size,

it is necessary to group similar elements in the the form of the signal itself.

The device forming the object of thepresent' invention enables a far greater number of units to be grouped on one and the same surface than was possible with the arrangements used heretofore.

Said device is particularly characterized by'the fact that the collimating lens has the greatest possible width in the direction in whichit is desired to preserve the maximum field of use of the self-luminous system, whereas in the direction perpendicular thereto its thickness is at the most equal to half the corresponding dimension of the object lens, so that when grouping such elements it is possible to bring the object lenses so close together as to be tangential the ones to the others, whereby a very high coefllcient of utilization is obtained.

The invention likewise comprises as a new article of manufacture a plate obtained by grouping such units wherein under each object lens are located in addition to the associated collimating lens, the ends of four adjacent colllmating lenses which increase the visibility by day.

The collimating lens may be in the form of a rectangle or any kind of polygon, such as: rhombus, hexagon, etc. or may even be of oval form.

Another characteristic of the invention resides in the modification of the contour of the object lens which may besquare or polygonal in order to allow the edges'to be juxtaposed whereby a coemcient of utilization of the surface of the grouping plate equal to 100% may be secured.

Finally another characteristic of the invention form of round, square or hexagonal plates or in resides in the fact that in the case of signals inclined at an appreciable angle to the vertical, the axialplaneof the collimating lens corresponding to its large dimension is located above or below the parallel axial plane of the object lens so that a luminous beam of average height passing through the object lens shall always form an image in the middle of the small dimension of the collimating lens. v

The accompanying drawings reproduce the known devices, and show by way of example several embodiments of the auto-eollimating device according to the present invention. 1

Fig. 1 illustrates in elevation one. of the mos commonly used types of autocollimatorss Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate in elevation and crosssection respectively a device similar to the preceding one but which has been modiiled in order to enable it to be better usedafor grouping purposes. I v

Fig; 4 illustrates the grouping of units of the type shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 illustrates the grouping of units of the type shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

Figs. 6, '7 and 8 illustrate an autocollimating unit in accordance with the invention in front view, sectional elevation and sectional end elevation respectively. I

Fig. 9 illustrates the grouping of units of this yp Figs. 10, 11, 12 an 13 show an embodiment of a luminous group us g this arrangement, where Fig. 10 is a front view, Fig. 11 an end view in section on XI'XI Fig. 10,

Fig. 12 a horizontal section on XII-XII Fig; 10, with the mounting removed, and- Fig. 13 is a rear view.

Fig. 14 shows in front elevation alternative 1 up r Fig. 15 is another modification. Fig. 16 is a front view of a third modification. Fig. ,17 is a section thereof on XVII- -XVII Fig. 16. v

Fig. 18 illustrates a square plate constituting a great number of autocollimating elements. In this figurev some oi the particular embodimentsmosaic or a panel of large area, have been illustrated in dotted lines.

Fig. 1 illustrates the most usual type of autowhich can be used to constitute a luminous collimating apparatus having a very large covering angle enabling the device to be used without troubling about the angle between its axis and the axis of illumination in the plane of the maximum field.

This device is constituted, as is already known, by'a hemisphere 1 joined to or cast with a second hemisphere 2 having practically double the diameter. This apparatus is a solid of revolulion about its axis XY. It is made of glassof a single color. According to the distribution of the reflected light it is desired to obtain, the hemispherical forms may be replaced by neighbouring forms, for example paraboloids of revolution or any other volume of revolution one group of which enables the incident rays to be reflected according to a definite law. By way of example, the ellipse and conchoid will be cited in addition to the parabola.

Fig. 4 illustrates a grouping of units similar to the one described above, and which are assembled in the form of a plate comprising any number of 1 Calling d the diameter of cally twice the diameter of the object lens.

Under these conditions, the surface area required to group for example 9 reflecting units will be 32784 d while the useful surface is that is to say practically 7 d.

The coefiicient of utilization of the surface area covered is therefore 7: 32-784, i. e. practically 21%.

In Figs. 2 and 3 the preceding autocollimator is reduced in size on account of the fact that the lower silvered portion or collimating portion has been reduced by cutting it along two parallel planes tangential to the object lens. This enables the units to be bunched nearer together.

Fig. 5 is illustrative thereof.

Under these conditions, for the same useful surface area of 4 7 that is to say, practically 7 d the surface area covered is 1758 d which gives a coefficient of utilization practically equal to 40%.

Now the working conditions of self-luminous apparatus for publicity or road indications necessitate:

1. The greatest possible horizontal field of use.

2. A vertical field of use corresponding to the greatest inclines encountered on the roads.

3. Utilization of the whole of the luminous surface area.

Taking these desiderata into account, the selfluminous element of Figs. 6, 7 and 8 has been designed wherein the thickness of the collimating portion in the vertical direction is at the most equal to half the diameter of the objective.

In this way, a horizontal field 0c is obtained which is greater than 140 and a vertical. field p of 30, which is largely suficient for roads having a gradient of one in four, and which are seldom encountered in trips made by car.

This new arrangement of reflecting units enables them to be grouped on a plate, as illustrated in Fig. 9 et seq., the object lenses being brought very close together and being even tangential if so desired. Under each object lens is situated the collimating lens associated therewith, and, above and 'below, part of the ends of the collimating portions of the lenses in the immediate vicinity thereof to the left and to the right.

In this case, for the same useful surface area, that is to say 7 d the surface taken up becomes 8-19 11 and the coefficient of utilization is greater than This arrangement of luminous units according to the invention confers-the following advantages:

1. Increase in the luminous power per unit of area, the coeflicient of utilization rising from 21 or 40% according to the former known arrangements to 85%.

2. By disposing under an object lens not only its associated collimator but also the four outer collimating portions of the adjacent left and right lenses, such a day visibility is obtained as is absent from the old arrangements.

The luminous rays radiated by the sun or reflected by the clouds no longer reach the collimator corresponding to the object lens, but the collimators of the adjacent lenses diffuse the light in all directions rendering the signalthus constituted very visible by day, while preserving at the same time all its features of nocturnal visibility.

Figs. 10, 11, 12 and 13 show a circular plate 3 made of glass of white or coloured crystal of the type of Fig. 9 fitted in a mounting 4 enabling it to be easily fixed to panels made of sheet metal, wood, cement or other material acting as the usual support for signals or publicity panels.

Fig. 18 illustrates another plate without a support having a greater number of units. 7

The dotted lines indicate how the units can be cut out to obtain polygons, which. units may be moulded directly to this form.

In order to form with the plate of Fig. 18 continuous luminous areas, it is only necessary to add above and below and on the sides identical plates fixed by screws or any other suitable mounting.

In the vertical direction, care will be taken to mount above a platearranged as illustrated in Fig. 18 the same plate but turning it through 180 in order that the projecting portions 5 shall fit in the recesses 6.

Figs. 14 and 15 illustrate a modification of the device according to the invention.

The object lenses preserve their same relative positions, but the collimating portions instead 1 of being rectangular take the form of a rhombus, Fig. 14, or hexagonal polygons, Fig. 15, or ovals, in order to enable said collimators to fit exactly the ones in the others, While the object lenses remain tangential or practically tangential.

Figs. 16 and 17 illustrate another modification wherein the object lenses which are spheres, paraboloids, etc. have been so moulded that in plan view they present the square inscribed in the original circle of the spherical or paraboloi'dal lenses, the collimating portions being arranged as in Figs. 6, 7 and 8, as in the modifications of Figs. 14 and 15. This arrangement enables the edges of all the object lenses to be made to coincide (Fig. 16).

The polygonal contour of said lenses may nat urally be smaller than inscribed in the aforemen-v coefiicient of utilization then becoming unity, since it is 100%.

Moreover, in certain cases of utilization, the axial plane of the collimator corresponding to its large diameter may be advantageously placed above or below the parallel plane passing through the centre of the object lens, in particular in the case where the signals make an appreciable angle with the vertical, so that in all cases a luminous beam of average height passing through the ob-' ject lenses shall form its image in the middle of the height of the silvered surf-ace of the collimator, that is to say, of the small dimension thereof.

Naturally, in allcases, each plate may be formed by two moulded piano-convex plates joined together.

I claim:

1. An autocollimator comprising an object lens, a collimating lens of non-circular contour joined to said object lens the average width of which is less and the length greater than the diameter of said object lens.

2. An autocollimator-comprising an object lens, a collimating lens having a rectangular contour joined to said object lens the width of said-collimating lens being less than the diameter of the object lens, the length being greater.

3. A cata dioptrical autocollimator comprising an object lens and a reflecting lens havinga polygonal contour joined to said object lens the length of said reflecting lens being greater than the diameter of the objective lens and 'the average width of said reflecting lens being not greater than one-half the diameter of the object lens.

4. Anautocollimator comprising an object lens, a collimating lens of polygonal contour joined to said object lens the length of said collimating lens being substantially twice the corresponding dimension of said object lens, the width being substantially one-half the corresponding dimension of said object lens. I

5. A signal composed of a plurality of collimating units, each unit comprising an object lens and a collimating lens of non-circular contour joined to said object lens the average width of which is less than and the length greater than the diameter of the object lens, each object lens having disposed thereunder in addition to its associated collimating lens the outer portions of other adjacent collimating lenses, the object lenses being disposed substantially tangential to each other. i

6. A signalcomposed of a plurality of autocollimating units each unit comprising an object lens, a collimating lens of polygonal contour having a curved reflecting surface and joined to said object lens, each object lens having disposed thereunder in addition to its associated collimating lens, the outer portions of other adjacent collimating lenses, the object lenses being disposed substantially tangential to each other.

'7. A signal formed by a plurality of autocollimators each comprising an object lens and a collimating lens joined to saidobject lens, each object lens having disposed thereunder in addition to its associated collimating lens the outerthe width being substantially one-half the corresponding dimension" of said object lens each object lens'having disposed thereunder in addition to its associated collimating lens, the outer portions of other adjacent collimating lenses, the object lenses being disposed substantially tangential to each other. v

9. A signal composed of a plurality of autocollimating units, each unit comprising an object lens of polygonal contour having a curved objective surface, a collimating lens of polygonal contour having a curved reflecting surface and joined to said object lens, each object lens having disposed thereunder in addition to its associated collimating lens the outer portions of other adjacent collimating lenses, the object lenses being contiguous. I

10. A signal formed by a plurality of autocollimators each comprising an object lens and a collimating lens joined to said object lens, the axial plane of said collimating plane being parallel but non-coincident with theaxial plane 0! said object lens, each object lens having disposed thereunder in addition to its associated collimating lens the outer portions of other adjacent collimating lenses, the object lenses being contiguous.

11. The combination of a non-reflecting object lens with a reflector arranged in collimat ing relation thereto, the maximum diameter of the reflector in one direction not exceeding onehalf the corresponding diameter of the object lens and the maximum diameter of the reflector being vertical to said first named diameter.

12. The combination of an object lens and a reflector arranged in collimating relation thereto, the maximum diameter of the reflector in one direction not exceeding half the corresponding diameter of the object lens, the diameter of the reflector extending perpendicular to said first diameter-being at least substantially twice the corresponding diameter of the object lens.

13. A device composed of auto-collimating units, .each unit comprising an object lens and a reflector arranged in collimating relation thereto, the maximum diameter of the reflector in its narrowest dimension being less than the corresponding dimension of the objective lens, the

longest diameter of the reflector being in excess of the corresponding diameter of the objective lens, said units being so arranged with relation to each other that each objective lens shall have disposed thereunder, in addition to its above specified collimating reflector, portions of other adjacent reflectors arranged in collimating association with other objective lenses.

' 14. A device comprising a plurality of autocollimators according to claim 3 in which the reflecting lenses have such polygonal contours that they maybe placed with corresponding faces of adjacent reflectors being in contact with one another. I

15. A device comprising a plurality of autocollimators according to claim 3 in which the axial plane of each reflector, corresponding to its long dimension is located at one side of the parallel axial plane of its principal associated ob- 19. A device comprising a sheet of glass formed on one side with a plurality of objective lenses and on the other side with a plurality of reflecting lenses, each reflector underlying a certain objective lens to form an autocollimator and also underlying a plurality of other objective lenses, the surface of the reflectors being coated with a suitable light reflecting material.

ANDRE GARBARINI. 

